I Will Never Forget
by Lady Redemption
Summary: “For Narnia…and for Aslan!” Peter’s battle cry still echoed in my mind. For Narnia: This beautiful land under the curse of the evil White Witch; this beautiful land that this battle was supposed to help set free. But that wasn’t happening...We were losing


**Author's Note: **There's really not much to say for this one except that I just suddenly had a burst of inspiration, and I just had to write this, otherwise it would bug me to no end. I'm sure lots of people have done something similar to this, so it's probably not very original (not to mention it's pretty much the scene in the movie, so that sort of makes it a bit un-original too), but I still just wanted to try my hand at this. Hope Edmund sounds in-character. R&R please!

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"_For Narnia…and for Aslan!" _

Peter's battle cry still echoed in my mind. _For Narnia._ For this beautiful land under the curse of the evil White Witch; for this beautiful land that this battle was supposed to help set free. But that wasn't happening. _For Aslan._ For the Great Lion; for the One who was setting Narnia and me free of the White Witch's spell. But then he was killed.

The Dryad's message still haunted my mind even now as I fought against the Witch's army. _"Aslan was killed by the White Witch on the Stone Table."_ Even now I had a strange feeling that it was my fault, though I didn't know why or how. But whatever the reason, he was gone and we were losing this battle.

_We're losing._ That was the only thought in my head now as I swung my sword at a Minotaur, ending its life. _Is there any way we can still win?_ I wondered, battling a Cyclops for a few seconds before swiping my sword down low, slicing into his legs and bringing him down. From the force I put into the swing, I spun around and found myself facing my brother, Peter.

"Get out of here!" he shouted at me. "Get the girls, and get them home!"

I was going to protest, but Mr. Beaver suddenly came up and pulled me away. "You heard him! Let's go!" I had no choice but to follow, but my eyes never left my brother as he continued battling for his life and for the sake of Narnia.

Once Beaver and I were up on the ledges, I was able to free my arm from his grasp. I stopped, still watching my brother and praying that he wouldn't get hurt. But a nearby noise caught my attention, and I averted my gaze to the commotion.

The Witch had just turned a Faun to stone with her wand, and a Leopard had pounced toward her. But she was swifter than he, and her wand connected with him before he could do any damage. The stone Leopard fell to the ground, and it broke my heart to watch. I was reminded of all those other creatures who I had seen turned to stone – Mr. Tumnus, the Fox, and now all these good creatures as well. The Witch moved on, unfazed. It was then that I saw who she was going for.

Peter.

No! She couldn't get to Peter; she couldn't harm him! Please, not Peter, not my brother! I wouldn't let her! Then I knew what I had to do; not just to save Peter, but to save all the other Narnians as well, to give them a better chance. And to make up for all that I'd helped the Witch do myself.

I drew my sword as Beaver protested, "Peter said, 'get out of here!'"

"Peter's not king yet!" was my reply as I rushed off, trying to catch up to the Witch.

As I raced along, I noticed Ginarrbrik standing over a fallen Dwarf, axe raised, ready to bring it down on his victim. I stuck my sword out at him, startling him. He let out a cry of surprise, and I used the flat of my blade to push him off the edge. He fell to the ground below with a _thump_ and lay there unmoving. But I didn't stay to find out if he was truly dead or just unconscious. I still had the Witch to take care of.

I found her only a few paces away, wand and sword raised as she calmly walked toward Peter, who had his back turned, unaware of the coming attacker. Now was my chance.

_For Narnia and for Aslan!_ I raised my sword and jumped off the edge of where I stood. Time seemed to slow down. I almost brought my sword down on the icy wand, but she moved it out of the way just in time, spinning around to face me as my feet touched the ground. A cruel smile was on her face now, as if she'd been waiting for this moment. And I knew she had as she thrust her wand toward me in an attempt to turn me to stone. But I was ready as well and moved quickly out of the way.

There the wand lay, unprotected right in front of me. This was my chance. I raised my sword once more and prayed for Aslan's strength as I brought the sword down with all my might. There was a brilliant flash of blinding blue light as the ice shattered. _I did it. The Narnians are safe now, and so is Peter. Thank Aslan._ Grim relief settled over me as the light disappeared, and I was able to see again. But what I saw wasn't pretty, though it certainly was expected.

The Witch looked surprised, horrified, and furious all at the same time. Her eyes bore into mine, and the next thing I knew, there was a searing icy pain in my stomach. I felt my lips open in a silent cry of pain, and I think I heard my brother screaming my name, but everything was becoming so fuzzy that I couldn't see, hear, or feel anything except the extreme pain. I saw the Witch roughly yank the end of her wand from my stomach, but that was the last thing I saw before blackness engulfed me.

At first I felt the pain only in my stomach area, but it was quickly spreading throughout my entire body until I felt nothing but extreme cold. I could feel my breath slip away quickly as my lungs seemed to freeze from the cold. No matter how much I gasped for air it just didn't come. I knew I was dying, and yet I almost didn't care. The others were safe now that the Witch didn't have her wand. Surely that had given them a better chance at winning. That hope and relief alone kept me from regret.

I was just about ready to let go, when suddenly something warm dropped onto my lips. I closed my mouth to get a better taste, and when I did, something amazing happened. Well, at first, nothing seemed to happen, except that I tasted something so delicious that not even the Turkish Delight the Witch had given me could even compare to this taste. And then I began to feel warmer. It was slow and faint at first, but it quickly grew warmer and warmer, spreading throughout my body and melting the cold away. I found I was able to breathe again, but the first thing that came up was a cough as I opened my eyes.

I saw the faces of my siblings staring down at me, tears trickling down their cheeks. Lucy and Susan were smiling through the tears. I smiled weakly back before my eyes turned to Peter.

He was crying. Peter, my brother, _crying_, and for me of all people! Peter never cried. Ever. He didn't cry when he'd gotten that bad mark on his test, nor when Mum sent him to his room without dinner because of it, nor when he'd broken his leg that one time; not even when Dad left for war. But here he was, crying, for _me_. It was then that I knew that he'd forgiven me, truly and utterly forgiven me for all that I had done. That alone made me want to cry as well.

Peter pulled me into a hug and seemed as if he didn't want to let go. I hugged him tightly in return, so glad to be alive and to be forgiven.

"When are you going to learn to do as you're told?" Peter said with a smile as we pulled away, and I couldn't help but smile too. Then Lucy threw her arms around me, and I was in a group hug with my siblings. But then I saw something that made me smile and made my jaw drop slightly in awe.

There stood Aslan, golden, magnificent, and beautiful, watching us with kind eyes and a smile upon his Lion face. We all pulled away as we watched him. I could tell that Peter, like me, was amazed that he was alive. We'd thought he was dead, yet here he was, standing before us. His eyes seemed to bore into mine, but with a sort of gentleness and love – completely unlike the Witch. And I don't know if I imagined it, though I am certain that I didn't, his eyes seemed to say, _"You are forgiven and loved, Edmund. Never forget that."_

I know I never will.


End file.
